Friday, June 3, 2011

My Kyoko Dress

{this is in no way a sponsored post... patty doesn't even know i'm posting this today}

Right before market Patty Young announced that she was releasing her wildly famous kids Kyoko Dress as an adult pattern.  Her tweets & post got my attention right away and I sent her a message to see If the pattern would be in before market so I could make one.  The dresses & shirts looked great and looked like something I could make.

What Patty Didn't Know
1. I'm not a garment sewer... at all.
2. I didn't think I'd actually be able to make the dress.
3. When Patty asked "How fast can you sew?" I replied...  "I've done a quilt start to finish in a day." ...and in the back of my head I was thinking "...but who knows how long it'll take to make this"
4. I had very very unsuccessfully tried to make a dress that was similar to this & that pattern was written so badly that the ball of fabric dress is shoved in a box somewhere.  I wanted the Kyoko pattern so I'd know once and for all if the first failure was due to the pattern or if I'd never be able to make clothes.


In ONE DAY I was able to make this.
I did all of the sewing myself!  My mother, who has made many clothes was very very impressed with it and the fact that I did it by myself.

Fabric is Pick a Bunch by Nancy Mims
Ribbon is by Patty Young

The Pattern is FANTASTIC.
1. Full size pattern pieces.
2. Lots of color diagrams and photos.
3. Tips on sewing with knit or woven.  I made mine from woven and love the result... but the pattern is so good & easy to put together that I see a knit Kyoko in my future too.

--

My Kyoko got quite the workout at Market.
Chances are if you saw me on Thursday you saw my Kyoko.


Here I am at Nancy Mims schoolhouse in the morning.
I wore just the dress... which happened to perfectly match the bag Joan made me.
Thank you to Natalie for the photo.

Later in the day I wore it to the Kyoko fashion show at Patty Young's schoolhouse.
This time I wore it with dark skinny jeans and flats.
More photos on Patty's Blog.


My schoolhouse was directly after Patty's... which means I wore my Kyoko for my schoolhouse.


You can check out some of the schoolhouse that Joan & I did!


The Robert Kaufman crew loved my dress so much that they put it in their booth for market.  I didn't tell them ahead of time that I was making it in case the result was a total mess!




So if you have been thinking of making this dress or you are a quilter who wants to tackle a dress... I say go for it.

Kyoko is available through many online and local quilt shops.  Here are a few links to get you started.
Fat Quarter Shop
Pink Chalk Fabrics



© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

30 comments:

mascanlon said...

saw the dress in your market blog posts. Its very cute and I'm thinking my daughter would love it!

Ruth said...

Oh it's gorgeous! Love the big wide belt!

Renegade Quilter said...

I just got the pattern and some knit to make the top. If all goes well I will be shopping for some knit to make the dress.

Vesuviusmama said...

Beautiful dress! Thanks for the review of the pattern - I've successfully tackled two small garments for my niece so far, so maybe I'm ready to make something for ME!

Paul said...

I think I see a dress in my future... Well, not MY future, my daughter's future... That is a very cute dress, my daughter is built about the same as you, and it looks adorable on you!

I'll show her your blog entry and see if she likes it... If she does, I'll give it a shot.

Paul
www.OutnumberedQuilter.com

Tiffany said...

This is such a cute dress - I wondered if you had made it yourself. I saw lots of pictures from market that had you in it wearing this dress - super adorable :)

Sunnybec said...

I noticed that dress when you wore it with the jeans and thought how good it looked. Well done you it looks lovely.

moshie said...

That's absolutely gorgeous! Great job!

Patty Young said...

Awesome, Julie! Your dress turned out amazing and I was so happy to have you as part of my Fashion Show! Thanks, sweets!!!

two hippos said...

It looks great. I've wanted to try sewing some clothes for myself (I'm a quilter and can handle bags, but garments have to...fit). This review makes me think this might be the pattern to start with :) Thank you.

bethanndodd said...

You might just rule the world one day, Julie ;) Great dress and it is just adorable on you!

DianeY said...

The dress is perfect for you-great job!
I sew for my granddaughters & have used many of Patty's patterns & every one is perfect in the instructions, illustrations & fit! (even the doll patterns!)I'm so glad she has expanded the size range as the kids are outgrowing the original sizes! Just received Kyoto in tweens & may start one today!

amylouwhosews said...

i agree with everyone else - it looks adorable on you! That fabric is great too. I'm a garment sewer before a quilter, I like that this could be a fast finish in my future. Thanks for sharing!

amylouwhosews said...

and PS - it was fun to see the video of you! I'm impressed with all your quilt designs and patterns you've put out! Great job!

Rachael said...

skinny jeans & ballet flats with your kyoko dress!?!?!?!?!!!!! you have come far, grasshopper. nina has taught you well.

Anonymous said...

Cool! You did a great job!!

Deborah said...

Awesome job on that dress!! So professional looking. Love the fabric you chose. You look very chic in it.
Deborah

bruinbr said...

Fantastic job! I am intimidated to sew clothes too, but this one is just too cute to resist! Thanks for the inspiration!

Katy Cameron said...

That dress is fab, love the belt on it

holly k said...

OOh!!! I love the dress!! This really is an amazing pattern!! Easier than I thought!

Cynthia said...

Super cute!!

Brita said...

Adorable! The fabrics you chose are perfect. And congrats, you're a rising star!

Denise in PA said...

What a great job! The dress looks fantastic on you. And, gotta love that Pick a Bunch!!

Cathy said...

Very cute dress! Glad you had a successful garment creation session!

Tatkis said...

Oh, you look wonderful in this dress! Congratulations with the sewing clothes achievement (after my school lessons I know that I can sew some clothes, but not sure that I have enough courage ;) )

Best wishes,
Tatyana

http://thankfullga447 said...

You have been so busy it seems, love the dress and love the video of your presentation. You have so much talent.

Cecilia e Helena said...

Wow, the dress is superb! Love it!
xoxo
Helena

Jean said...

Great job!

Anonymous said...

Love the colors and flow of the dress!

Is there were we enter the contest to win the Kona Fat Quarters?

Please enter me in the drawing!

Thank you,
Vanessa
pineneedles4@yahoo.com
www.pineneedles4.wordpress.com

Loretta said...

Cute dress and you model it nicely. I would like to be entered in the drawing for the Kona Fats. Thank you.